Jury finds Costco sold a fake CHI hairstyling iron

Houston company's chief, who once ran for governor, cheers verdict

A jury found that a hairstyling iron sold at Costco Wholesale Corp. was a fake version of the CHI-brand product made by Houston-based Farouk Systems and awarded $200,000 in statutory damages, according to Costco attorneys. Farouk had alleged the retailer had sold 56 counterfeit irons, Costco officials said.

"I'm very pleased with the verdict and this shows that Farouk Systems will fight known counterfeiting and will preserve the integrity and authenticity of CHI products consumers purchase," Farouk Shami, Farouk Systems' founder and chairman, said in a written statement.

Shami ran for Texas governor in 2010, but lost in the Democratic primary.

Farouk filed the suit against the Seattle-based retailer two years ago.

Costco has sold 170,000 of these hairstyling tools and "we don't agree that even that a single iron was not genuine," said John Sullivan, Costco's vice president. He added that the jury rejected Farouk's claim that a fake iron was deliberately sold.